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'''2008''' was a [[year]].
 
== Properties ==
2008 was a [[leap year]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Imaginary Friends (novel)}}; [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Condemned (audio story)}})
 
== Events ==
== Events ==
=== January ===
=== Dated events ===
* [[Owen Harper]] went undercover to prevent the [[Weevil]]s like [[Janet (Weevil)|Janet]] from being abducted by humans to fight in a [[Weevil Fight Club]]. [[Torchwood Three]] discovered the club's location and shut it down. ([[TV]]: ''[[Combat]]'')
==== January - June ====
=== Early February ===
On [[1 January]], shortly after midnight, the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Charley Pollard]] met [[Byron (The Girl Who Never Was)|Byron]] in [[Singapore]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Girl Who Never Was (audio story)}}) That same day in [[Brooklyn]], [[Alan Wood]] writes a [[letter]] to [[Diane (Snowman in Manhattan)|Diane]] describing the adventure he had with the [[First Doctor]], [[Vicki Pallister]] and [[Steven Taylor]], but ultimately decides not to give it to her, asking her out for [[coffee]] instead. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Snowman in Manhattan (short story)}})
* [[Jack Harkness]] and [[Toshiko Sato]] were transported back in time to [[The Ritz]] in 1941. Owen used the [[Rift Manipulator]] to bring them back, opening the Rift. By this point, [[Harold Saxon]]'s campaign for election was underway as "Vote Saxon" signs were visible in [[Cardiff]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Captain Jack Harkness (TV story)|Captain Jack Harkness]]'')
 
* As the [[Cardiff rift]] opened, the Rift quickly pulled beings through it at a steadier pace. Visions appeared to the Torchwood Three team and [[Rhys Williams]] was murdered. As a result, the Rift was closed, undoing the damage, but [[Abaddon]] was released, wiping out hundreds of people. Jack killed Abaddon with an overflow of life energy, which left Jack dead for days. ([[TV]]: ''[[End of Days]]'') Shortly after being restored to life, [[Jack Harkness|Jack]] heard the sound of the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] and re-joined the Doctor as the TARDIS hurtled toward the year [[100000000000000|100,000,000,000,000]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[End of Days]]'', ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')
In [[February]], [[Lucy (Eve of the Daleks)|Lucy]] became [[Nick (Eve of the Daleks)|Nick]]'s girlfriend. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Eve of the Daleks (TV story)}})
* Meanwhile, Jack was declared missing by his Torchwood teammates, and [[Gwen Cooper]] took charge of the group. Subsequently, [[Ianto Jones]] began taking a more active role in field assignments. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'')
 
On [[29 February]], the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Charley Pollard]] arrived in [[Manchester (city)|Manchester]] and helped [[Detective Inspector|DI]] [[Patricia Menzies]] solve a [[murder]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Condemned (audio story)}})
 
In [[March]], Nick broke up with Lucy. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Eve of the Daleks (TV story)}})
 
According to one account, a [[UNIT]] mission log placed March 2008 as the time that moon rocks were found at [[Royal Hope Hospital]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cite source|Recruits (audio story)|minute=10|second=10}}) Other accounts placed [[Martha Jones]]' activity around this time in about [[18 June|18]]-[[23 June]] [[2007]], ([[PROSE]]: {{cite source|The Paradox Moon (short story)|ed=2021 paperback|page=387}}) or [[4 June|4]]-[[9 June]] in an unspecified year.<!--See Behind the scenes section--> ([[PROSE]]: {{cite source|The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)|page=120}}) {{note|According to {{cite source|The Sound of Drums (TV story)|timestamp=5:47 and 33:27|ed=iPlayer}} the events of the [[Royal Hope incident]] are three days before the election of {{Simm}} and five days before the [[Toclafane invasion]].}}
 
On [[31 May]], the Tenth Doctor and Donna visited [[Calibris]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Time Reaver (audio story)}})
 
<!--Moved events surrounding the British election to 2000s-->
 
==== June - December ====
In [[October]], [[Majenta Pryce]] opened the [[Hotel Historia]] in [[London]]. After [[Tony (Hotel Historia)|Tony]] won the lottery, he was contacted by Pryce and given a chance to stay at the Hotel Historia. One of the years that Tony visited using the hotel's time travel capabilities was [[4039]], a time when London was being invaded by the [[Graxnix]]. The [[Tenth Doctor]] followed Tony back to 2008 from 4039 and the Doctor was followed by the Graxnix. The Doctor found Pryce and scolded her for using a potentially dangerous [[Chronexus 3000]] to achieve time travel. When the Graxnix began attacking guests and staff at the hotel, the Doctor used the Chronexus to send them back to 4039 and then contacted the [[Cosmic Bailiff]]s, who shut down the hotel and arrested Pryce. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|Hotel Historia (comic story)}})
 
On [[24 October]], the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]] encountered [[Auton]]s in [[Thorington]], [[Uzbekistan]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Brave New Town (audio story)}})


=== March ===
On [[31 October]], the [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Martha Jones]] found an unusually creepy [[Halloween]] celebration in [[Blackwood Falls]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Forever Autumn (novel)}})
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] met [[Amy Pond]] in [[Leadworth]] after twelve years of waiting. A [[Multi-form]] called [[Prisoner Zero]], who had escaped through the crack in Amy's wall, attacked. The [[Atraxi]] arrived, threatening the destruction of Earth if Prisoner Zero did not surrender. The Doctor created a computer virus for the Atraxi to track back to its source in Leadworth (spread by [[Jeff Angelo|Jeff]]). The Doctor also transmitted Prisoner Zero's disguises to the Atraxi so it couldn't hide in the bodies it had been disguised as. It then took the form of Amy; the Doctor made Amy think of Prisoner Zero's original form. Now in plain sight, Prisoner Zero was captured by the Atraxi, who left. The Doctor took a test drive of his refurbished TARDIS, only returning two years later. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'')


=== Spring or Summer ===
On [[10 September]], [[CERN]] first tested their [[Large Hadron Collider]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Extremis (TV story)}}) finally creating a [[Higgs particle]]. However, the first test opened a portal to another dimension, letting [[neutron eater]]s loose; the Higgs particle was merely a side effect of [[Katrina Johnson|Professor Johnson]] and [[Jack Harkness]]' plan to close the gateway, by having [[proton]]s and [[antiproton]]s fire against each other. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Lost Souls (audio story)}})
* [[Maria Jackson|Maria]] and [[Alan Jackson]] moved into [[36 Bannerman Road]], [[Ealing]], the house opposite [[Sarah Jane Smith]]'s. The [[Bane (Invasion of the Bane)|Bane]] used a '[[Bane (ingredient)|natural ingredient]]' hidden in their [[Bubble Shock!]] drink to enslave humanity. Sarah Jane and Maria went to the [[Bubble Shock! factory]] and stole their human archetype. The archetype used a communication device from a [[Star Poet]] to destroy the [[Bane Mother]] and freed the mind-controlled people. One Bane, [[Wormwood (Invasion of the Bane)|Mrs Wormwood]], escaped from the exploding factory. Sarah Jane adopted the Archetype and named him [[Luke Smith|Luke]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Bane]]'')
* The [[Slitheen family]] killed overweight teachers and created technology labs for their energy draining machine to cool [[Sol|the Sun]], intending to sell the destroyed Earth. In the testing phases, the Earth briefly experienced a worldwide power outage. Luke unwittingly gave the code that would make the machine work properly to the Slitheen. [[Clyde Langer]] joined Luke, Maria and Sarah Jane in investigating the schools, fighting the Slitheen off with vinegar. When tried out on the Sun, the Slitheen's fixed machine overloaded and was destroyed in the confusion during its reset, killing two Slitheen while the others teleported to their ship. Sarah Jane used her supercomputer [[Mr Smith]] to orchestrate a cover-up that suggested the darkening of the sun and the power outage were caused by a sudden, but temporary, shift in Earth's magnetic field. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Slitheen]]'')
* [[Royal Hope Hospital]] was teleported to [[the Moon]] with the [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Martha Jones]] inside, for the [[Judoon]] to search for a [[murder]]er. Identified as non-human, the Doctor escaped the Judoon after he was mistaken for the murderer. The Doctor's blood was later sucked by [[Florence Finnegan]] (the murderer). Martha revived him. The Judoon positively identified and executed Finnegan. The Doctor stopped a supercharged MRI machine from wiping out Earth. The hospital was returned and Martha joined the Doctor in the TARDIS. [[Harold Saxon|Mr. Saxon]] continued his campaign for [[British Prime Minister]]. He was given high support after the hospital's disappearance, then reappearance. ([[TV]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]''; ''[[The Sound of Drums]], et al, establishes this occurs only a few days before the election.'')
* [[Richard Lazarus]] unveiled an age-reversing machine which initially de-aged him, then transformed him into a possible evolutionary branch of humanity, latent in his DNA, becoming a monster in doing so. The Tenth Doctor killed Lazarus. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Lazarus Experiment]]'')
* Election Day began and [[Harold Saxon]] was voted British [[Prime Minister]]. [[Dexter|A mysterious woman]] surveilled [[Francine Jones|Francine Jones']] phone, as she knew Francine's daughter Martha was in contact with Saxon's enemy, the Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[42 (TV story)|42]]'' / ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
** At or around this date, Saxon sent [[Torchwood Three]] on a "wild goose chase" mission away from Great Britain ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'') to the Himalayas where they were told (apparently by 'the highest authority') that another Rift had been discovered halfway up K2. When they got there, however, they found it to be a trap. They were almost killed in an avalanche while distracted by a 'Jack-in-a-box' ([[WEB]]: ''[[Torchwood website|torchwood.org.uk]]'')
* The Tenth Doctor, Jack and Martha returned from [[100,000,000,000,000]] and went on the run as fugitives declared by Harold Saxon, in fact the Master. The Master announced on television that humanity was to make first contact with the [[Toclafane]]. [[Arthur Coleman Winters|President Winters]] stepped in, allowing [[UNIT]] to take control. The Doctor, Martha and Jack snuck aboard the ''[[Valiant (aircraft carrier)|Valiant]]''; the Toclafane murdered President Winters. The Master, seeing through the Doctor and his companions' perception filters, heavily aged the Doctor and captured him and Jack. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
* [[The Year That Never Was]] began; the Master built a new "[[Time Lord Empire]]" and Martha Jones travelled the world executing the Doctor's plan. Ultimately, the year was negated and the clock reset to just after the Toclafane killed Winters. [[Lucy Saxon]] killed the Master. Martha Jones and Jack returned home and left the Doctor on his own. ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'') Lucy was subsequently imprisoned; unknown to her, a group of Saxon's followers retrieved his signet ring from his funeral pyre and began preparations for restoring [[the Master]] to life the following year. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time, Part One]]'')
* Captain Jack returned to Torchwood Three and met [[John Hart (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)|John Hart]], who was sent on a wild goose chase to find an [[Arcadian diamond]]. In finding the apparent keys to its location, he was implanted with a bomb attached to his DNA. The Torchwood Three team disposed of the bomb and sent John through the Rift. John told Jack he had found [[Gray]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'')


=== May ===
In [[December]], the [[First Doctor]] and [[Steven Taylor]] visited [[Antarctica]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|White on White (short story)}})
* [[15 May|15]] - [[Geoff Noble]], father of [[Tenth Doctor]] companion [[Donna Noble]], died. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Beautiful Chaos]]'')


=== July ===
<!--Moved Voyage of the Damned to 2000s as a result of inconsistent placement of both series 3 and 4.-->
* The Tenth Doctor may have participated in preventing a [[Graske]] causing mischief at a 2008 BBC Proms concert in [[London]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Music of the Spheres]]'')
* [[31 July|31]] - : [[NASA]] confirmed the existence of liquid water on [[Mars]] via its ''[[Phoenix (probe)|Phoenix]]'' probe. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars]]'' trailer [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNqGdygJXDw&NR=1])


=== June-August ===
=== Undated ===
* [[Jonah Bevan]] was taken by the Cardiff Rift, ending up on a burning planet. A much older Jonah was found on the island of [[Flat Holm]] seven months later. ([[TV]]: ''[[Adrift]]'')
While some accounts placed the home era of Donna Noble where she reunited with the Doctor in 2008, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Waters of Mars (TV story)}}, [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|SOS (audio story)}}) other accounts placed it in [[2009]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Beautiful Chaos (novel)}})


=== October ===
The Tenth Doctor participated in preventing a [[Graske]] causing mischief at a 2008 BBC Proms concert in [[London]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Music of the Spheres (TV story)}})
* The [[alien]] [[Samarand]]s invaded [[Greece]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Hotel Historia (comic story)|Hotel Historia]]'')
* [[31 October|31]] - The [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Martha Jones]] found an unusually creepy [[Halloween]] celebration in [[Blackwood Falls]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Forever Autumn (novel)|Forever Autumn]]'')


=== Spring/Summer - [[December]] ===
A [[Fu Manchu's son|time-travelling individual]] from the [[Victorian era]] spent at least three months of every year in 2008, and would have spent more there had the [[British tax laws]] permitted. ([[PROSE]]: {{Cs|The Beasthouse (short story)|namedpart=An Introduction}})
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]] found a [[Gorgon]]. [[Maria Jackson]] used a mirror to turn it into stone, and the gateway to the race's galaxy was sealed. ([[TV]]: ''[[Eye of the Gorgon]]'')
* The [[Torchwood Three]] team discovered [[Cell 114]] [[sleeper agent]]s in [[Cardiff]] and stopped them from setting off nuclear warheads hidden under Cardiff. ([[TV]]: ''[[Sleeper (TV story)|Sleeper]]'')
* Annual de-frosting of [[Tommy Brockless]], a young soldier first cryogenically frozen in [[1918]], took place. This turned out to be the final defrosting. Tommy returned back in time to use a 'Rift key' to stop the two timelines in this year and 2008 from colliding with one another. ([[TV]]: ''[[To the Last Man]]'')
* Teenagers went missing after playing [[Combat 3000]]. Luke Smith and Clyde Langer were among them. Sarah Jane Smith discovered they were being teleported by an alien named [[Kudlak]] who took them to a war ship to fight in [[Ghost Wars|an alien war]]. After Luke discovered the war had ended ten years earlier, Kudlak returned the children and searched for the children he had sent to distant worlds. ([[TV]]: ''[[Warriors of Kudlak]]'')
* [[Rhys Williams]] discovered the truth about Gwen Cooper's job when he was caught up in Torchwood Three's investigation of a [[Cash Cow]]. Owen euthanised the animal. ([[TV]]: ''[[Meat (TV story)|Meat]]'')
* A being which used the name "[[Adam Smith]]" escaped from [[the Void]] and lived parasitically by altering and inserting himself into others' memories. Adam was drawn to the unique memories of Torchwood Three and made them believe he was a long-time member of their team and [[Toshiko Sato]]'s lover. [[Ianto Jones]] and Captain Jack Harkness exposed Adam after Ianto found no reference to him in his written diaries, and the team banished himto the Void by [[retcon]]ning themselves to forget the whole incident. ([[TV]]: ''[[Adam (TV story)|Adam]]'')
* Sarah Jane Smith was given a puzzle box by a [[Verron soothsayer]], with instructions to give it to someone she trusted. The next week she gave it to Maria Jackson. [[The Trickster]] retroactively wiped Sarah Jane out of existence, but reality was restored with help from Maria Jackson, Alan Jackson and [[Andrea Yates]], the woman who had caused all this. Mr. Smith pushed a meteorite headed for [[Earth]] out of the way. ([[TV]]: ''[[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]'')
* A few days after the incident with the Trickster and five months after the thwarted Bane invasion, [[Mr. Smith]] and the Slitheen tried to use [[Luke Smith]]'s telekinetic abilities via a [[MITRE headset]] to collide [[the Moon]] with Earth, freeing his [[Xylok]] brothers. He was defeated by Sarah Jane, who infected him with the Armaggedon virus made by Alan Jackson. Mr. Smith was rebooted with a new purpose. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Lost Boy]]'')
* Dr. Martha Jones arrived in [[Cardiff]] on the trail of the [[the Pharm]], who had been experimenting on humans with a drug called [[Reset]]. Martha was temporarily assigned to Torchwood Three. The Pharm was shut down, but Dr. [[Owen Harper]] was shot and killed by [[Aaron Copley]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Reset (Torchwood story)|Reset]]'')
* Before Martha Jones could conduct an autopsy on Owen Harper, he was revived by [[Jack Harkness]] using the second [[resurrection gauntlet]]. For reasons unknown, Harper continued to live past the standard two and a half minute revival time. He was briefly possessed by [[Duroc]], the embodiment of Death. Deaths occurred at [[St. Helen's Hospital|a Cardiff hospital]] as a result of Duroc's manifestation. Owen defeated Duroc, not having any life energy for Duroc to steal. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dead Man Walking]]'')


=== December ===
According to one account,{{note|While ''Blink'' itself uncontroversially sets its main setting in [[2007]] and "twenty minutes to [[Red Hatching]]" a year later in 2008—as [[Kathy Nightingale]]'s letter describes taking "one breath in 2007 and the next in [[1920]]", and the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s side of his conversation with [[Sally Sparrow]] in [[1969]] happens 38 years before Sally says hers—these are contradicted by heavily conflicting dates in the ''[[Redacted (audio series)|Redacted]]'' audio series later on regarding both Kathy's disappearance and the Red Hatching. In ''[[Angels (audio story)|Angels]]'', [[Abby McPhail]] identifies 2008 as the year of Kathy's disappearance, which suggests [[2009]] as the year of the Red Hatching. In ''[[Salvation (audio story)|Salvation]]'', the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] recognises the Red Hatching as the cause of death of [[Andy Proctor]], who was last seen by his daughter [[Cleo Proctor|Cleo]] "nearly 20 years" before [[2022]] according to ''[[Recruits (audio story)|Recruits]]''.}} about twenty minutes before the [[Red Hatching]] in 2008 was when the Doctor met [[Sally Sparrow]], who gave him information he would need to escape when the [[Weeping Angel]]s sent him back to [[1969]]. After this, Sally began to open up to [[Larry Nightingale]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Blink (TV story)}})
* A company called Khrysalis set up operations in [[Stockbridge]], purportedly planning to build a leisure park in the quiet town. [[Maxwell Edison]] created the [[Stockbridge Preservation Society]] to protest this. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Stockbridge Child (comic story)|The Stockbridge Child]]'')
* [[24 December|24]]-[[25 December|25]] - The Tenth Doctor, after repairing a hole in space-time with the help of his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth incarnation]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash]]'') found himself aboard a [[Titanic (spaceship)|space-faring replica]] of the ''[[Titanic]]'' in orbit around Earth. Some of the passengers (including the waitress [[Astrid Peth]]) briefly landed in the middle of London. As the two previous Christmases had been disrupted by the arrival of alien spacecraft over [[London]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'') most residents of the city had left for the season. Those choosing to remain in the city included Queen [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]] and [[Wilfred Mott]], grandfather of [[Donna Noble]]. A series of meteorites were deliberately allowed to collide with the deshielded ''Titanic'', causing the ship and its nuclear storm drive to hurtle towards Earth. Most of the survivors of this collision were killed by the [[Heavenly Host]]. After the Doctor used the Host's security protocol to find the man in charge, [[Max Capricorn]], Astrid followed, killing Capicorn but dying with him. The Doctor piloted the Titanic to safety, just missing [[Buckingham Palace]]. The only survivors were [[Alonso Frame|Midshipman Alonso Frame]], [[Rickston Slade]], the Doctor and [[Bayldon Copper|Mr Copper]]. Astrid was partially revived as starlight. Mr Copper, having money for the first time in his life, retired to Earth. ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'') [[Donna Noble]] dismissed the near-miss by the ''Titanic'' as a hoax. ([[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')


=== Unknown Dates ===
A company called Khrysalis set up operations in [[Stockbridge]], purportedly planning to build a leisure park in the quiet town. [[Maxwell Edison]] created the [[Stockbridge Preservation Society]] to protest this. ([[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Stockbridge Child (comic story)}})
* Following her encounter with the Tenth Doctor and the [[Empress of the Racnoss]], Donna Noble attempted to improve her life by travelling to [[Egypt]]. Afterwards, experiencing regret at turning down the Doctor's invitation to travel with him, Donna began investigating unusual events in hopes of encountering the Doctor doing the same. Her investigations led to her learning about the disappearance of bees and [[Adipose Industries]], which eventually led to her reuniting with the Doctor in [[2009]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'')
* During an unchronicled adventure in [[London]] with Martha Jones, the Doctor met [[Sally Sparrow]], who gave him information he would need to escape when the [[Weeping Angel]]s sent him back to [[1969]]. After this, Sally began to open up to [[Larry Nightingale]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Blink]]'')
* [[Ed Gold]], later a member of the crew of [[Bowie Base One]], was born in [[Australia]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars]]'')
* The [[Seventh Doctor]] destroyed the [[The Forge|Forge]]'s alpha facility in [[Dartmoor]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Project Lazarus (audio story)|Project: Lazarus]]'')
* The [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]] visited London. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Sisters of the Flame (audio story)|Sisters of the Flame]]'')


=== Negated Timelines ===
The [[Seventh Doctor]] destroyed the [[The Forge|Forge]]'s alpha facility in [[Dartmoor]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Project Lazarus (audio story)|Project: Lazarus}})
==== [[Donna's World]] ====
* Spring or Summer - The Judoon defeated Florence Finnegan; all but one of the people inside Royal Hope Hospital, which was taken to the Moon, died of asphyxiation, including Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones. Luke Smith and Maria Jackson were also reported missing. ([[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]'')
* [[25 December]] - While Donna Noble, [[Sylvia Noble|her mother]] and her grandfather holidayed in the English countryside, the alien spaceship ''Titanic'' crashed into London, destroying the city and contaminating most of southern England with radioactivity. ([[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]'')


==== [[Andrea Yates' World]] ====
The [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Lucie Miller]] visited London. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Sisters of the Flame (audio story)}})
* Spring/Summer-December - Maria Jackson, remembering Sarah Jane thanks to holding the [[Verron soothsayer]]'s [[Verron puzzlebox|puzzle box]], discovered she had died in 1964, taking the place of Andrea Yates, and that Mr Smith was never installed in 13 Bannerman Road's attic, Andrea having made a deal with the Trickster. As a result, the Earth was susceptible to the meteorite strike, fuelling chaos the Trickster could feed on. Maria was erased by Krislok. Alan, who remembered Maria when no-one else did thanks to holding the puzzle box, confronted Andrea Yates about Sarah Jane. Andrea revoked her deal with the Trickster, returning the timeline to normal. ([[TV]]: ''[[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]'')


== Behind the scenes ==
[[Computer]]s achieved [[the Singularity]], demonstrated their sentience by proving [[P=NP]] and the [[Chess Equation]], and took over the world for three weeks. However, after [[Susan Moore (Holding Pattern)|Susan Moore]] and [[Adam (Holding Pattern)|Adam]] convinced them to refuse an alliance with [[alien]] computers from the [[future]], they deactivated their sentience and the normal course of [[history]] was restored. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Holding Pattern (Parkin short story)}})
 
[[File:DW Eleventh Hour Atraxi scan.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Atraxi]] search for [[Prisoner Zero]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}})]]
The [[Eleventh Doctor]] met [[Amy Pond]] in [[Leadworth]] after twelve years of waiting. A [[Multi-form]] called [[Prisoner Zero]], who had escaped through the crack in Amy's wall, attacked. The [[Atraxi]] arrived, threatening the destruction of Earth if Prisoner Zero did not surrender. The Doctor created a computer virus for the Atraxi to track back to its source in Leadworth (spread by [[Jeff Angelo|Jeff]]). The Doctor also transmitted Prisoner Zero's disguises to the Atraxi so it couldn't hide in the bodies it had been disguised as. It then took the form of Amy; the Doctor made Amy think of Prisoner Zero's original form. Now in plain sight, Prisoner Zero was captured by the Atraxi, who left. The Doctor took a test drive of his refurbished TARDIS, only returning two years later. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}})


* The announced 2008 production hiatus sparked speculation over whether [[David Tennant]] would continue in ''Doctor Who. ''Published reports ranged from suggestions Tennant would leave at the end of Series 4 to ones he had negotiated a deal with the BBC to keep him on the series through Series 5 in 2010 or longer. This speculation ended in October with Tennant's announcement about his future on the series.
Although intending to visit [[Brighton]] in [[1818]], the [[Fifth Doctor]] arrived in [[Hove]] in this year as [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]'s [[lateral balance cones]] were offline. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Cuddlesome (audio story)}})
* Silva Screen Records reissued ''[[Doctor Who - Original Television Soundtrack]]'', a CD featuring music from the 2005 and 2006 series. Due to licensing changes, the reissue featured a new cover photograph of [[David Tennant]] by himself, with [[Billie Piper]]'s image removed.


=== January ===
In an attempt to [[suicide|take his own life]], [[Huw MacLean]] purposefully drove off the [[motorway]] with both [[Jackie MacLean|his wife]] and [[April MacLean|eight year old daughter]] in the [[car]]. Jackie was [[paralysed]] as a result, while April herself was not hurt. Huw went to [[prison]] for causing the [[car crash|crash]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Nightvisiting (TV story)}}, {{cs|Brave-ish Heart (TV story)}}, {{cs|Detained (TV story)}})
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Bride of Peladon]]'' was first released.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Catalyst]]'' was first released.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Dalek Empire IV]]'': ''[[The Fearless: Part 4]]'' was first released, concluding [[Big Finish Productions]]' fourth ''[[Dalek Empire IV|Dalek Empire]]'' mini-series.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Wake (audio story)|The Wake]]'' was first released.
* [[Series 1 (SJA)|Series 1]] of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' debuted in Canada on the [[BBC Kids]] cable network.
* [[8 January|8]] - This was the hundredth birthday of [[William Hartnell]].
* [[9 January|9]] - Cast readthrough for [[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]''/''[[Forest of the Dead]]'' took place.
* [[11 January|11]] - [[Russell T Davies]] began writing the script for [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]''.
* [[12 January|12]] - [[Steven Moffat]] informed [[Russell T Davies]] he had begun writing the first episode of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] (''[[The Writer's Tale]]'').
* [[14 January|14]] - The DVD set ''[[Beneath the Surface]]'' was released in the UK, featuring [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'', ''[[The Sea Devils]]'' and ''[[Warriors of the Deep]]''.
* [[16 January|16]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'' was first broadcast, launching the [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|second series]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''.
* 16 - ''[[Torchwood Declassified]]'' also began its second season.
* [[17 January|17]] - With issue 47, ''[[Doctor Who Adventures]]'' switched from a fortnightly magazine to a weekly.
* [[19 January|19]] - BBC Radio Wales broadcasted the documentary ''[[Torchwood: All Access]]'', released later in the year on the CD of [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Lost Souls]]''.
* [[20 January|20]] - [[Kevin Stoney]], who played [[Mavic Chen]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan]]'', [[Tobias Vaughn]] in ''[[The Invasion]]'' and [[Tyrum]] in ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'', died.
* [[22 January|22]] - [[Russell T Davies]] completed the initial draft of [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]''.
* 22 - The complete [[Series 1 (Torchwood)|First Series]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' was released in a DVD box set in North America.
* [[23 January|23]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Sleeper (TV story)|Sleeper]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[24 January|24]] - The first issue of ''[[Torchwood Magazine]]'' was published. According to an article on the making of the crossover episode [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]'', published in issue 7, the existence of the magazine caught cast members by surprise.
* 24 - [[John Barrowman]] published his autobiography, ''Anything Goes''.
* [[30 January|30]] - [[TV]]: ''[[To the Last Man]]'' was first broadcast.


=== February ===
After over thirty years of production, the [[John Fuchas]] film adaptation of ''[[The True History of Planets]]'' was released. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Mad Dogs and Englishmen (novel)}})
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Revenge of the Judoon]]'', the third novella in the [[BBC Books]] [[Quick Reads]] series, was first published.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Condemned]]'' was first released.
* IDW, an American comic book company, launched a new original ''Doctor Who'' monthly comic book series. Written and edited by [[Gary Russell]], the six-issue series featured the [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Martha Jones]]. The storyline was untitled in the comic book, but later given the title [[COMIC]]: ''[[Agent Provocateur]]'' when IDW published a graphic novel edition of the storyline in the summer of 2008.
* [[4 February|4]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Everyone Says Hello]]'' and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Hidden]]'' were first released. These were the first made-for-audio adventures by [[BBC Audio]] based upon ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]''.
* 4 - Audio adaptations of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Space War]]'' were first released.
* [[6 February|6]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Meat (TV story)|Meat]]'' was first broadcast.
* 6 - [[TV]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'' and the box set ''[[The Complete Davros Collection]]'' were released to DVD in Region 4.
* [[11 February|11]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Time Meddler]]'' was released to DVD in the UK.
* [[13 February|13]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Adam (TV story)|Adam]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[Reset (Torchwood story)|Reset]]'' were both first broadcast. In ''Reset'', [[Freema Agyeman]] temporarily joined the series as [[Martha Jones]].
* [[15 February|15]] Cast readthrough for [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]'' took place.
* [[20 February|20]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Dead Man Walking]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[27 February|27]] - [[TV]]: ''[[A Day in the Death]]'' was first broadcast.


=== March ===
[[Torchwood Three]] encountered a [[sentient element]] in [[Cardiff Bay]], which intended to reproduce itself by assimilating the chemical composition of all of [[Cardiff]] and its residents. This element was eventually reduced to [[water]] when the [[coastguard]] doused it with a petroleum-based bio-remedial agent. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Black Water (short story)}})
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Dark Husband]]'' was first released.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Short Trips: Defining Patterns]]'' was first published.
* The [[BBC]] announced it was investigating technology to return colour to [[Third Doctor]] episodes only available in black and white.
* [[3 March|3]] - A new DVD edition of [[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'' was released in the UK. This version included the remastered version previously issued on VHS and DVD and the first DVD release of the original 1983 version of the story. A commentary by [[David Tennant]] was included as an Easter Egg in the set - the first time a Doctor other than the one featured in the story provided commentary.
* [[4 March|4]] - [[Russell T Davies]] began writing the script for [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'', the fourth Christmas special.
* 4 - The North American DVD release of [[TV]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'' and ''[[Planet of Evil]]'' took place.
* [[5 March|5]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Something Borrowed]]'' was first broadcast.
* 5 - The DVD set ''[[Beneath the Surface]]'' was released in Region 4, featuring [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'', ''[[The Sea Devils]]'' and ''[[Warriors of the Deep]]''.
* [[6 March|6]] - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Twilight Streets]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Trace Memory]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[Something in the Water]]'' were first published.
* [[10 March|10]] - [[11 March|11]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Nightmare Fair (audio story)|The Nightmare Fair]]'' was recorded.
* [[10 March|10]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'' was released to DVD in the UK. Also included in the set was the mini-episode [[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash]]''.
* [[12 March|12]] - [[TV]]: ''[[From Out of the Rain]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[17 March|17]] - [[Russell T Davies]] completed his script for [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]''. ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale|Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'')
* [[19 March|19]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Adrift]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[21 March|21]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[23 March|23]] - Responding to criticism from his correspondent [[Benjamin Cook]], [[Russell T Davies]] agreed to change the ending of [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'', removing a planned cliffhanger to lead into [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]''.
* [[26 March|26]] - Final correspondence between [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Benjamin Cook]] in terms of material included in the first edition of the book ''[[The Writer's Tale]]'' took place, but correspondence incorporated into the second edition began immediately.
* [[29 March|29]] - Production wrapped on [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'', ending production of the thirteen episodes of Series 4 proper, though production continued on the Christmas special, [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]''.
* [[30 March|30]] - The first reviews of [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'' appeared in UK newspapers.


=== Spring ===
On another occasion, Torchwood Three recovered a [[Parasite|parasitic]], psychic [[Plant (Plant Life)|alien plant]] and stored it in their [[Hothouse (Torchwood Hub)|hothouse]]. [[Ianto Jones]] fell victim to the plant's psychic commands and began feeding it his own [[blood]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Plant Life (short story)}})
* For the third year in a row, episodes of ''Doctor Who'' were nominated in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category at the Hugo Awards. The 2008 "''Doctor Who'' universe" episode nominees were [[TV]]: ''[[Blink]]'' by [[Steven Moffat]] (his third consecutive Hugo nomination), [[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood]]'' two-parter by [[Paul Cornell]] and the ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' episode [[TV]]: ''[[Captain Jack Harkness (TV story)|Captain Jack Harkness]]'' by [[Catherine Tregenna]].
* In the weeks preceding the debut of ''Doctor Who'' Series 4, the BBC released a trailer to cinemas in Great Britain - a rarity for a television series. It included scenes from most episodes from the first half of the season (except [[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter]]''), and a clip from [[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]'' from near the end of the season. The incorporation of a clip of [[Billie Piper]] as [[Rose Tyler]] from ''Turn Left'' made official the character's return in the new season.
* After nearly a decade of being available sporadically through comic shops, distribution of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' in Canada was increased considerably, with the magazine now widely available in bookstores and magazine specialty shops, although issues were distributed in Canada two or three months after their UK publication dates.


=== April ===
According to some accounts, [[Aliens of London dating controversy|but not others]], 2008 was the year that [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] unfroze [[World War I]] soldier [[Tommy Brockless]] for the last time,{{note|Tommy was born in [[1894]] and was 114 when he returned to [[1918]].}} ([[TV]]: {{cs|To the Last Man (TV story)}}) and Gwen Cooper of Torchwood investigated the disappearance of [[Jonah Bevan]].{{note|Jonah was born in [[1993]] and would have been 15 when Gwen investigated him.}} ([[TV]]: {{cs|Adrift (TV story)}}) In [[1901]], a time-displaced Jack Harkness told his Torchwood teammates to freeze him to be awakened in 107 years' time to reach his brother [[Gray (Fragments)|Gray]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Exit Wounds (TV story)}})
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Haunting of Thomas Brewster]]'' was first released.
* Early April - Review copies of the Fourth Season premiere, [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'', were circulated to media. Unknown to the media, they received an edited version omitting the surprise cameo appearance by [[Billie Piper]] (a ruse acknowledged by [[Russell T Davies]] in later interviews and ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'').
* [[1 April|1]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Timelash]]'' and ''[[The Time Warrior]]'' were released to DVD in Region 1.
* [[2 April|2]] - Cast readthrough for [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]''.
* 2 - [[TV]]: ''[[The Time Meddler]]'' was released to DVD in Region 4.
* [[3 April|3]] - Writer [[Johnny Byrne]] died.
* [[4 April|4]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds]]'' was first broadcast, ending ''Torchwood's'' second series. [[Burn Gorman]] and [[Naoko Mori]] left the series with this episode.
* 4 - ''[[Torchwood Declassified]]'' also ended its second season.
* [[5 April|5]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'' was first broadcast, launching the [[Series 4 (Doctor Who)|fourth season]] of the revived series. [[Catherine Tate]] rejoined the series full-time as companion [[Donna Noble]]. [[Billie Piper]] made her first newly-filmed appearance in the series since [[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday]]'' in 2006; despite media leaks regarding her filming new episodes, her cameo in this particular episode was a secret until initial broadcast.
* 5 - After the episode was broadcast, the first Series 4 episode of ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'' aired.
* [[7 April|7]] - Audio adaptations of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Myth Makers (novelisation)|Doctor Who - The Myth Makers]]'' were first released.
* 7 - Filming began on [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'', the 2008 Christmas special.
* [[9 April|9]] - Cast readthrough for [[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Clown]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[Secrets of the Stars]]'' took place.
* 9 - The BBC announced that ''Doctor Who'' and composer [[Murray Gold]] would be spotlighted in [[Doctor Who at the Proms]], a special concert during the upcoming Proms classical music performance series. At a press event, violinist [[wikipedia:Nigel Kennedy|Nigel Kennedy]], there to promote his own Proms appearance, performed his own arrangement of the [[Doctor Who theme|''Doctor Who'' theme]].
* [[12 April|12]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]'' was first broadcast. Included in the cast was future companion actress [[Karen Gillan]].
* [[14 April|14]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Black Orchid (TV story)|Black Orchid]]'' was released to DVD in the UK.
* [[15 April|15]] - [[16 April|16]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Boy That Time Forgot]]'' was recorded.
* [[16 April|16]] - [[David Tennant]] met with new series producers [[Steven Moffat]] and [[Piers Wenger]] to discuss [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] and whether he might reconsider his decision to leave. Tennant, who according to [[Russell T Davies]] had been "wobbling" on his departure, reaffirmed he would leave the role of the [[Tenth Doctor]] after the 2009 specials. ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale|Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'')
* [[18 April|18]] - The American Sci-Fi Channel ended its broadcasts of [[Series 3 (Doctor Who)|Series 3]] with [[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''.
* [[19 April|19]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Ood]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[21 April|21]] - [[22 April|22]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Destroyer of Delights]]'' finished recording.
* [[26 April|26]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'' was first broadcast. [[Freema Agyeman]] returned to the series (temporarily) as [[Martha Jones]], her first ''Doctor Who'' appearance since [[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]''. The [[Sontaran]]s appeared for the first time since [[TV]]: ''[[The Two Doctors]]''.


=== May ===
[[Toshiko Sato]] became temporary acting leader of Torchwood Three. This was in accordance with a manifesto written by [[Emily Holroyd]], which stated that in the absence of a leader the longest-serving member of a Torchwood team should take their place. After Torchwood recovered a [[Rehabilitator]] from [[Danny Dillard]], Tosh unofficially handed the role over to Gwen Cooper. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Kaleidoscope (short story)}})
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Martha in the Mirror]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Snowglobe 7 (novel)|Snowglobe 7]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Many Hands]]'' were first published. Despite [[Donna Noble]] being the current companion, BBC Books continued to feature [[Martha Jones]] as companion in the novels.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Assassin in the Limelight]]'' was first released.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership]]'' was first published.
* The [[CBC]] announced it would air Series 4 of ''Doctor Who'' beginning in September, but would not broadcast the second series of ''Torchwood''.
* [[1 May|1]] - The [[BBC]]'s official ''Doctor Who'' website began posting a series of exclusive comic strip stories dubbed [[BBC Writers' Comics]]. Over the next few months, strips written by writers of ''Doctor Who'' novels and TV stories created using the ''Comic Maker'' application were featured. This week was [[WC]]: ''[[In-Flight Entertainment]]''.
* 1 - Still in the midst of shooting [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'', [[David Tennant]] refilmed the now-[[Cyberman]]-free closing scene of [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]''.
* 1 - [[Bernard Archard]] ([[Bragen]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]'' and [[Marcus Scarman]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Pyramids of Mars]]'') died.
* [[3 May|3]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Poison Sky]]'' was first broadcast. The episode included a very brief cameo by [[Billie Piper]], lasting approximately one second in length; despite the brevity, she still received screen credit. As with [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'', advance review copies of the episode did not include this cameo. In an interview with ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', [[Russell T Davies]] stated that the decision to add Piper's cameo was made shortly before broadcast; the scene was shot for the upcoming episode, [[TV]]: ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]''.
* 3 - Production of Series 4 officially concluded with the filming of the mini-episode [[TV]]: ''[[Music of the Spheres]]''.
* [[5 May|5]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'' was released to DVD in the UK.
* 5 - Also released in the UK was the DVD box set ''[[Bred for War]]'' containing the previously released stories [[TV]]: ''[[The Time Warrior]]'', ''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]'', ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'' and ''[[The Two Doctors]]''. The release coincided with the recent [[Sontaran]] two-parter on television.
* [[8 May|8]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Pest Control (audio story)|Pest Control]]'', the first original ''Doctor Who'' audio adventure produced by [[BBC Audio]]books, was released. Considered a spin-off of the [[BBC Books]] [[BBC New Series Adventures#Tenth Doctor|New Series Adventures]] line, this marked [[Donna Noble]]'s debut in such spin-off fiction and was the first officially licenced audio drama not to be produced by [[Big Finish Productions]] since the BBC Radio [[Jon Pertwee]] radio plays of the mid-1990s. It was read by [[David Tennant]].
* 8 - The special edition of [[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'' was released to DVD in Region 4.
* [[9 May|9]] - [[WC]]: ''[[Mind Shadows]]'' ([[BBC Writers' Comics]]) was uploaded.
* [[10 May|10]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter]]'' was first broadcast, introducing the character of [[Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter)|Jenny]], played by [[Georgia Moffett]], the daughter of [[Fifth Doctor]] actor [[Peter Davison]], and who once had auditioned for the role of [[Rose Tyler]]. [[Freema Agyeman]] departed for a second time after this episode.
* [[12 May|12]] - [[Robert Russell]] (a Guard in [[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]'' and [[the Caber]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons]]'') died.
* [[15 May|15]] - [[WC]]: ''[[Destiny's Door]]'' and [[WC]]: ''[[Fuel]]'' ([[BBC Writers' Comics]]) were uploaded.
* [[17 May|17]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[19 May|19]] - Cast readthrough for [[TV]]: ''[[The Last Sontaran]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[The Mark of the Berserker]]'' took place.
* [[21 May|21]] - The BBC formally announced [[Russell T Davies]] would step down as executive producer of ''Doctor Who'' in 2009, to be succeeded by [[Steven Moffat]], approximately twenty months after Davies first approached Moffat with the idea (per ''[[The Writer's Tale]]'').
* [[22 May|22]] - Plans for [[Freema Agyeman]] to return as [[Martha Jones]] in the planned third series of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' were derailed when Agyeman was signed to co-star in ''Law & Order: UK'' for ITV. ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale|Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'')
* [[29 May|29]] - [[WC]]: ''[[The Beast Is Back In Town (comic story)|The Beast Is Back In Town]]'' ([[BBC Writers' Comics]]) was uploaded.
* [[31 May|31]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'' was first broadcast, introducing [[River Song]].
* Late May - the BBC released a new television trailer promoting the final episodes of the fourth series.


=== June ===
A [[credit crunch of 2008|credit crunch]] occurred. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Curse of Clyde Langer (TV story)}})
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Death Collectors]]'' was first released.
* [[2 June|2]] - The ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 1'' DVD, featuring the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'', ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]'' and ''[[Planet of the Ood]]'', was released in the UK.
* [[3 June|3]] - The ''[[Beneath the Surface]]'' DVD collection featuring [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'', ''[[The Sea Devils]]'' and ''[[Warriors of the Deep]]'' was released in North America.
* [[5 June|5]] - [[6 June|6]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ultimate Adventure (audio story)|The Ultimate Adventure]]'' was recorded.
* [[5 June|5]] - [[WC]]: ''[[Mad Martha]]'' ([[BBC Writers' Comics]]) was uploaded.
* 5 - [[TV]]: ''[[Black Orchid (TV story)|Black Orchid]]'' was released to DVD in Region 4.
* [[7 June|7]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'' was first broadcast.
* [[10 June|10]] - [[David Brierley]], the second actor to voice [[K9 Mark I|K9]], died.
* 10 - [[Derek Murcott]], who played [[Crito]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster]]'', died.
* [[12 June|12]] - Audio adaptations of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[Black Orchid (novelisation)|Doctor Who - Black Orchid]]'' were first released.
* 12 - Holding out until the last possible moment, the BBC finally announced the title of Episode 12 of Series 4 would be [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''.
* 12 - [[WC]]: ''[[Escape to Penhaxico]]'' ([[BBC Writers' Comics]]) was uploaded.
* [[13 June|13]] - [[Buckingham Palace]] announced that [[Russell T Davies]] would be awarded an OBE.
* [[14 June|14]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'' was first broadcast. It included the third and last surprise cameo by [[Billie Piper]] prior to her proper return to the series. This was the first "[[companion-lite]]" episode of the series, as it was filmed simultaneously with the "Doctor-lite" episode [[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]''. [[David Troughton]], son of [[Patrick Troughton]], guest starred.
* Mid-June - American news media, including CNN, ran profiles of [[Billie Piper]] in conjunction with the debut of her series ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' in the US. Coincidentally this spike in US coverage coincided with the lead-up to her return to the series in [[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]'', although her involvement in ''Doctor Who'' was given only a passing mention.
* Mid-June - At the same time, it was reported that [[Christopher Eccleston]] had been cast as Amelia Earhart's co-pilot in an upcoming film based on the ill-fated aviatrix's life, while [[John Barrowman]] made Canadian headlines when he was named a judge for the Canadian edition of the UK talent contest series ''How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'' for the [[CBC]] (Barrowman also served as judge on the UK version).
* [[16 June|16]] - The DVD box set ''[[K9 Tales]]'', featuring [[TV]]: ''[[The Invisible Enemy]]'' and the first DVD release of [[TV]]: ''[[A Girl's Best Friend]]'', the pilot episode of ''[[K9 and Company]]'', was released in the UK.
* [[19 June|19]] - [[WC]]: ''[[Just Another Thursday]]'' ([[BBC Writers' Comics]]) was uploaded.
* [[21 June|21]] - [[TV]]:''[[Turn Left]]'' was first broadcast, marking the official return of [[Billie Piper]] as [[Rose Tyler]] after her previous cameo appearances. This was the annual "Doctor-lite" episode.
* [[23 June|23]] - Cast readthrough for [[TV]]: ''[[The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[Enemy of the Bane]]'' took place.
* [[24 June|24]] - ''Doctor Who'' won the Best International Series at the Thirty-fourth Annual Saturn Awards, an American entertainment awards program. The category was a new one introduced this year, and nominees included ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'', [[Steven Moffat]]'s ''Jekyll'' and ''Life on Mars'' (which starred [[John Simm|John "Mr Saxon" Simm]]).
* Late June - The Canadian cable network Space announced it had obtained the Canadian broadcast rights to Series 2 of ''Torchwood'' and would begin airing the series in August. Reportedly its timeslot would, in some parts of Canada, place it in direct competition with Series 4 of ''Doctor Who'' when the CBC began airing it in September.
* Late June - Several UK media reports indicated that [[David Tennant]] was in negotiations to return to ''Doctor Who'' for the 2010 series, but no official announcement was forthcoming (leading to additional speculation in the wake of the cliffhanger of [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' a few weeks later), although it was known that he was to appear in the [[The Next Doctor|2008 Christmas special]] as photos of him shooting the special had leaked to the press months earlier.
* [[26 June|26]] - [[WC]]: ''[[Who Ate All the Biscuits?]]'' ([[BBC Writers' Comics]]) was uploaded.
* [[28 June|28]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' was first broadcast. This historic episode marked the first, and following ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''' cancellation in [[2011]], only three-way crossover between ''Doctor Who'', ''Torchwood'' and ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Returning to ''Doctor Who'' were [[John Barrowman]], [[Elisabeth Sladen]], and [[Freema Agyeman]]. The episode received an Appreciation Index (AI) rating of 91, the highest in the series' history and a feat considered rare if not unprecedented for a mainstream network series.[http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEulFEyAFEfMhBlnv&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle]
* [[30 June|30]] - The complete [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|Second Series]] of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' was released in a DVD box set in the UK.
* 30 - [[COMIC]]: ''[[Beyond the Sea (comic story)|Beyond the Sea]]'' was first published.
* 30 - [[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'' (with ''[[Time Crash]]'') was released to DVD in Region 4.


=== July ===
In [[2323]], [[Dr]] [[Olivia Kagg Waldermein]] wrote of the "[[2005]]-2009 [[Russell T Davies (in-universe)|Davies]]-[[Julie Gardner (in-universe)|Gardner]] [[Doctor Who (in-universe)|account]]" of the "[[Last Lightbringer]]". ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Love & War (short story)}})
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Boy That Time Forgot]]'' was first released.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Here There Be Monsters]]'' was first released, marking the first appearance of [[Carole Ann Ford]] as the "true universe" version of [[Susan Foreman]] since [[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]''.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Short Trips: Transmissions]]'' was first published.
* Early July - The week between the cliffhanger ending of [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' and the broadcast of [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'' was marked by some of the most intense media attention ''Doctor Who'' has ever seen, especially given the uncertainty over whether [[David Tennant]] would remain with the series.[http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEVEAlkuypAzYebbR]
* [[1 July|1]] - The ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 2'' DVD, with the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'', ''[[The Poison Sky]]'', ''[[The Doctor's Daughter]]'' and ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'', was released.
* [[3 July|3]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'' was released to DVD in Region 4.
* [[4 July|4]] - [[WC]]: ''[[The Baktek Illusion]]'' was uploaded, concluding the [[BBC Writers' Comics]] special series.
* [[5 July|5]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'' was first broadcast, bringing to a close the fourth series of the revived ''Doctor Who''. It was the last episode to be produced by [[Phil Collinson]], the first of the revived series' original producers to depart. The episode featured the one-time returns of [[Noel Clarke]], [[Camille Coduri]] and [[K9]] to the series; [[Catherine Tate]] left the series as a regular with this episode. This was the last regular weekly episode of ''Doctor Who'' scheduled until [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] in 2010. Like the previous season finales, the broadcast of ''Journey's End'' sparked a frenzy of Internet discussion, both pro and con. The episode featured the greatest concentration of active companions (as opposed to illusions and images) in the series' history (not including the non-canonical [[TV]]: ''[[Dimensions in Time]]''). The episode was viewed by 10.57 million people and became the No. 1 program for the week -- the first time this had occurred for any episode in the forty-five-year history of ''Doctor Who'' -- despite competition from the Wimbledon finals; it also repeated the previous week's feat and scored an Appreciation Index figure of 91, again unheard of for both ''Doctor Who'' and for a mainstream television production.[http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEVuFppyybCfstIhg&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle][http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EkEykpAEuAeSoAAghE&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle]. The episode concluded with a teaser for the 2008 Christmas special, at the time of broadcast left untitled but later announced as [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]''. As K9 did not appear in [[Series 2 (SJA)|Series 2]] of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', this marked his final appearance until the post-season mini-episode [[TV]]: ''[[From Raxacoricofallapatorius With Love]]'' aired in March 2009.
* 5 - Afterwards, the final Series 4 episode of ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'' was broadcast.
* [[6 July|6]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'' was broadcast on ABC in Australia.
* [[7 July|7]] - ''The Daily Mail'' reported that more than 2,500 people actually attempted to phone the Doctor's phone number as shown in [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'', in hopes of hearing a special recorded message, but the number was in fact non-functional.[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1032510/Dial-doctor-2-500-Dr-Who-fans-try-ring-Time-Lords-mobile.html]
* [[8 July|8]] - The ''[[Bred for War]]'' DVD box set ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Warrior]]'', ''[[The Sontaran Experiment]]'', ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'', ''[[The Two Doctors]]'') was released in Region 4.
* [[11 July|11]] - The ''Telegraph'' reported on rumours of David Tennant stepping down from the role of the Doctor, with [[David Morrissey]], [[John Simm]], and [[Robert Carlyle]] cited as the book-maker's favourites to replace him, despite Morrissey scheduled to guest star in the 2008 Christmas special and Simm having already played [[the Master]] in Season 3. [[Julie Gardner]] confirmed in the article that Tennant had made his decision as to whether he would stay on for the [[2010]] season, but she confirmed he would appear in all of the special episodes scheduled for [[2009]].[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/07/11/nosplit/bvtvwho11.xml] Despite this, wildcat Internet rumours persisted that Morrissey would replace Tennant as early as the 2008 Christmas special, while some UK media reported Tennant had signed an agreement to stay with the series through Series 5 in 2010.
* [[12 July|12]] - ''Doctor Who'' swept the television categories at the second annual Constellation Awards, a Canadian award presented as part of the Polaris science fiction convention. [[David Tennant]] won for best Male Performance in a Science Fiction Television episode for his work on the two-parter [[TV]] : ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood]]''; [[Carey Mulligan]] won the female equivalent for [[TV]]: ''[[Blink]]''; and the series itself won for Best Science Fiction Television Series of 2007. ''Doctor Who'' was eligible for these awards thanks to its co-production arrangement with the [[CBC]].
* [[14 July|14]] - [[Margot Van der Burgh]], who played [[Cameca]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'', died.
* 14 - [[Hugh Lloyd]], who played [[Goronwy]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Delta and the Bannermen]]'', died.
* [[21 July|21]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'' was released to DVD in the UK.
* [[23 July|23]] - Copies of issue No. 397 of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' came polybagged with randomly chosen original [[Target Books]] editions (from a selection of twenty-seven books), giving the Target novelisations widespread exposure for the first time in years; also included in the mix were a few non-novelisation releases such as [[REF]]: ''[[The Making of Doctor Who]]''. The issue also included a second surprise: when the polybag was removed, all text on the front cover (except around the UPC symbol) was revealed to be "BAD WOLF", including the title banner for the magazine itself. This was a tie-in with the ending of [[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]''.
* 23 - Publication of [[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who Classics Volume 1]]'', a graphic novel-style release reprinting the first few issues of [[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who Classics]]'' by [[IDW Publishing]], took place.
* [[27 July|27]] - The first Doctor Who Proms concert was held at Royal Albert Hall in London, featuring music from ''Doctor Who''. An interactive mini-episode, [[TV]]: ''[[Music of the Spheres]]'', was shown as part of this event, which was initially broadcast on [[BBC Radio]]. The concert was hosted by [[Freema Agyeman]], with [[Catherine Tate]] appearing to introduce a segment as well. Singer [[Tim Phillips]], who performed "[[Song for Ten]]" in [[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'', performed the extended version of the song introduced on the [[Doctor Who - Original Television Soundtrack|Series 1 & 2 soundtrack CD]]. [[Davros]], the [[Graske]] and other monsters made cameo appearances as well. As a tribute to the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]] and [[Delia Derbyshire]], ''Music of the Spheres'' ended with the original 1963 arrangement of the "[[Doctor Who theme|''Doctor Who'' theme]]". The BBC later announced that an edited version of the broadcast -- including ''Music of the Spheres'' -- would air on 1 January 2009.


=== August ===
<!--Adventures of Sarah Jane Smith and her friends moved to 2000s due to an absence of a clear setting of SJA series 1 and 2-->
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Doomwood Curse]]'' was first released.
=== Other timelines ===
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Great Space Elevator]]'' was first released.
==== Donna's world ====
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Adolescence of Time (audio story)|The Adolescence of Time]]'' was first released.
[[File:London destroyed.jpg|thumb|right|London is destroyed. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}})]]
* [[1 August|1]] - The American Sci-Fi Channel broadcasted [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'' in a special ninety-minute time slot, concluding its broadcasts of Series 4.
In the spring or summer, the Judoon defeated Florence Finnegan; all but one of the people inside Royal Hope Hospital, which was taken to the Moon, died of asphyxiation, including Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones. Luke Smith and Maria Jackson were also reported missing. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}})
* 1 - [[Gertan Klauber]] (the Galley Master in [[TV]]: ''[[The Romans]]'' and [[Ola]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Macra Terror]]'') died.
* [[4 August|4]] - The DVD ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 3'', featuring the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'', ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'' and ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'', was released in the UK.
* [[5 August|5]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Time Meddler]]'', ''[[Black Orchid (TV story)|Black Orchid]]'' and the special edition of ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'' were released to DVD in Region 1.
* [[6 August|6]] - The DVD ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 1'' was released in Region 4 featuring the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'', ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]'' and ''[[Planet of the Ood]]''. This was the first time Region 4 had seen a release of this nature.
* [[8 August|8]] - The Canadian premiere of ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' Series 2 took place on the [[Space (TV channel)|Space]] network, marking a new beginning for Space's association with the ''Doctor Who'' franchise; it had previously aired the original ''Doctor Who'' series in the late 1990s.
* [[9 August|9]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Blink]]'', by [[Steven Moffat]], won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. This was the third consecutive win for both Moffat and the series.
* [[14 August|14]] - Audio adaptations of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Dæmons]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars]]'' were first released.
* [[25 August|25]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The War Machines]]'' was released to DVD in the UK.
* [[29 August|29]] - IDW Publishing issued [[COMIC]]: ''[[Agent Provocateur]]'', a graphic novel compilation of the first six-issue storyline of its original ''Doctor Who'' monthly comic book and [[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who Classics Volume 1]]'', collecting the first several issues of reprints originally published by IDW as the monthly title [[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who Classics]].'' This edition featured the run from ''[[The Iron Legion]]'' to ''[[The Star Beast]]''.
* [[31 August|31]] - ''[[Doctor Who: Battles in Time (magazine)|Doctor Who: Battles in Time]]'' published its fiftieth issue.
* [[IDW Publishing]] launched a second ''Doctor Who'' comic book mini-series, [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Forgotten]]'', which featured appearances by all ten Doctors.


=== Late summer ===
On [[25 December]], while Donna Noble, [[Sylvia Noble|her mother]] and her grandfather holidayed in the English countryside, the alien spaceship ''Titanic'' crashed into London, destroying the city and contaminating most of southern England with radioactivity. ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}})
* [[ITV]] announced that [[Freema Agyeman]] would star in ''Law & Order: London'', a spin-off of the American ''Law & Order'' franchise set to air in 2009. ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' writer [[Chris Chibnall]] was named the show's head writer, and other ''Torchwood'' alumni signed to write for the new series included [[James Moran]] and [[Catherine Tregenna]].


=== September ===
<!--Adventures of Sarah Jane Smith and her friends moved to 2000s due to an absence of a clear setting of SJA series 1 and 2-->
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Ghosts of India]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Shining Darkness]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Doctor Trap]]'' were first published. These were the first full-length novels featuring [[Donna Noble]] as companion.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Kingdom of Silver]]'' was first released.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Time Reef]]'' was first released.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Doll of Death]]'' was first released.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Short Trips: How the Doctor Changed My Life]]'' was first published.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel (audio story)|The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel]]'' was first released.
* Trailers for the second season of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' began appearing in cinemas in the UK, following on from the introduction of cinema trailers for the parent series. The trailer included specially shot footage of one of the characters addressing the audience.
* GE Fabbri began test marketing a new multimedia publication called ''[[Doctor Who DVD Files]]'' in the northeast UK, in preparation for a British Isles roll-out of the publication beginning in January 2009.
* This was the tenth anniversary of the release of the first ''Doctor Who''-related audio drama by [[Big Finish Productions]], an adaptation of the [[Bernice Summerfield]] novel, [[BFBS]]: ''[[Oh No It Isn't! (audio story)|Oh No it Isn't!]].''
* [[1 September|1]] - The DVD ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 4'', featuring the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' and ''[[Journey's End]]'', was released in the UK.
* [[2 September|2]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'' and the ''[[K9 Tales]]'' box set featuring [[TV]]: ''[[The Invisible Enemy]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[A Girl's Best Friend]]'' were released to DVD in Region 1.
* [[4 September|4]] - The ''[[K9 Tales]]'' DVD box set featuring [[TV]]: ''[[The Invisible Enemy]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[A Girl's Best Friend]]'' was released in Region 4.
* 4 - Region 4 also saw the release of ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 2'' with the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'', ''[[The Poison Sky]]'', ''[[The Doctor's Daughter]]'' and ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]''.
* [[8 September|8]] - ''David Tennant: A Life in Time and Space'', a biography of the actor, was first published.
* [[10 September|10]] - The first ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' radio drama, [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Lost Souls]]'', was broadcast on [[BBC]] Radio 4. Although there had been exclusive-to-audio books released previously, this was the first full-cast audio drama based upon the series. The story was based upon the activation of the Large Hadron Collider, a real-life event that took place around the time of the broadcast. The current cast of the series reprised their TV roles, along with [[Freema Agyeman]], returning as [[Martha Jones]].
* [[11 September|11]] - Audio adaptation of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Green Death]]'' was first released.
* [[15 September|15]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Four to Doomsday]]'' was released to DVD in the UK.
* [[16 September|16]] - ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' series 2 was released on standard DVD in the United States (the Canadian release was delayed until November 11).
* 16 - ''The Times'' began serialising excerpts from [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale]]'', including [[Russell T Davies]]' comment that [[Russell Tovey]] was his favourite to play the [[Eleventh Doctor]]; other media subsequently reported this.
* [[17 September|17]] - [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Benjamin Cook]] were interviewed on ''BBC Breakfast'' to promote [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale]]''.
* [[18 September|18]] - [[BBC Audio]] released the ''Torchwood'' radio play [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Lost Souls]]'' on CD and for download. The CD version included a documentary featurette, ''[[Torchwood: All Access]]''.
* [[19 September|19]] - The belated broadcast of Series 4 of ''Doctor Who'' began on the [[CBC]] in Canada. The CBC began the season with [[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]'', omitting [[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'' and, as a result, leaving the Series 3 cliffhanger unresolved for Canadian viewers. In some parts of Canada the broadcasts overlapped those of ''Torchwood'' on [[Space (TV channel)|Space Channel]].
* [[20 September|20]] - ''Merlin'' debuted on [[BBC One]]. The popular series shared numerous behind-the-scenes personnel with ''Doctor Who'' as it was also a BBC Wales production. The Mill, which provided special effects for ''Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', also provided SFX for the series. [[Colin Morgan]], who had guest-starred in [[TV]]: ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'', played the lead role, with [[TV]]: ''[[School Reunion]]'' guest star and frequent voiceover contributor [[Anthony Stewart Head]] as King Uther. [[Eve Myles]] ([[Gwen Cooper]] on ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'') played a villain in this first episode, while [[Michelle Ryan]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'') had a recurring role as another villain.
* [[23 September|23]] - A [[BBC]] press release announced the title of the 2008 Christmas special, [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'', renewing fan speculation regarding [[David Tennant]]'s future with the series into 2009.
* [[25 September|25]] - Publication of the first edition of ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale]]'', a collection of e-mails between [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Benjamin Cook]] between February 2007 and March 2008 discussing the production of Series 4, took place.
* [[29 September|29]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Last Sontaran]]'' parts 1 and 2 were first broadcast, launching [[Series 2 (SJA)|Series 2]] of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''. The story was a follow-up to [[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky]]''.
* 29 - [[TV]]: ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' - the complete [[Season 23]] - was released to DVD in the UK as a single set.
* [[30 September|30]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Ultimate Adventure (audio story)|Doctor Who: the Stageplays - The Ultimate Adventure]]'' was first released. This was the first in a series of [[Big Finish Productions]]' audio productions adapting ''Doctor Who''-based stage plays, in this case the [[Colin Baker]] version of the stage play ''[[The Ultimate Adventure]]''.


=== October ===
== Births and deaths ==
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Brotherhood of the Daleks]]'' was first released.
[[Ed Gold]], later a member of the crew of [[Bowie Base One]], was born in [[Australia]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Waters of Mars (TV story)}})
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Empathy Games]]'' was first released.
* ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' published its four hundredth issue, cover-dated [[15 October]] but available in stores as early as [[1 October]]. This issue featured the start of the comic strip [[COMIC]]: ''[[Thinktwice (comic story)|Thinktwice]]'', which introduced [[Majenta Pryce]] as the Doctor's new comic-strip companion; this was the first time since the departure of [[Destrii]] in 2005's [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'' that the DWM strip had introduced an original companion.
* [[IDW Publishing]] launched its fourth ''Doctor Who'' comic book title, the two-issue [[COMIC]]: ''[[Grant Morrison's Doctor Who]]'', reprinting the 1980s-era ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' strips by [[Grant Morrison]]: ''[[The World Shapers]]'', ''[[Changes (comic story)|Changes]]'' and ''[[Culture Shock (comic story)|Culture Shock]]''.
* In multiple interviews conducted in March and April of 2010, [[Matt Smith]] indicated he had been chosen to play the [[Eleventh Doctor]] "three months" before the official announcement was made in early January 2009. This meant the decision to cast him may have been made during October 2008 - possibly ''before'' [[David Tennant]] announced his departure.
* [[1 October|1]] - [[Ian Collier]] died.
* [[2 October|2]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'' was released to DVD in Region 4.
* 2 - Also released in Region 4 was ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 3'' featuring the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]'', ''[[Forest of the Dead]]'' and ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]''.
* [[6 October|6]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Clown]]'' part 1 was first broadcast.
* [[7 October|7]] - Series 1 of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' was released to DVD in North America. This predated the UK release of the series by a full month.
* 7 - Also released to DVD in North America were [[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'' and the ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' box set.
* 7 -[[Peter Copley]], who played [[Warlock (Pyramids of Mars)|Warlock]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Pyramids of Mars]]'', died.
* [[9 October|9]] - [[PROSE]]:''[[The Forever Trap]]'', the second exclusive-to-audio ''Doctor Who'' story by [[BBC Audio]]/[[BBC Books]], was first released. It was read by [[Catherine Tate]].
* [[13 October|13]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Clown]]'' part 2 was first broadcast.
* [[14 October|14]] - [[Russell T Davies]] received an e-mail proposing an idea for ''Torchwood: The Musical'' with members of ABBA doing the music. ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale|Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - the Final Chapter]]'').
* [[20 October|20]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Secrets of the Stars]]'' part 1 was first broadcast.
* [[20]] - [[John Ringham]] ([[Tlotoxl]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs]]'', [[Josiah Blake]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Smugglers]]'' and [[John Robert Ashe|Robert Ashe]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'') died.
* [[24 October|24]] - ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' Series 2 concluded in Canada.
* [[26 October|26]] - [[Stacey Tendeter]] ([[Naia]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Underworld]]'') died.
* [[27 October|27]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Secrets of the Stars]]'' part 2 was first broadcast.
* 27 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[Almost Perfect]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Pack Animals]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[SkyPoint]]'' were first published. ''Pack Animals'' and ''SkyPoint'' were the last novels to feature [[Owen Harper]] and [[Toshiko Sato]] as the series moved into post-Series 2 continuity with ''Almost Perfect''.
* 27 - [[Roy Stewart]] ([[Toberman]] in [[TV]]: ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'' and [[Tony (Terror of the Autons)|Tony]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'') died.
* [[29 October|29]] - [[David Tennant]] and the BBC announced that Tennant would leave ''Doctor Who'' following production of the "gap season" specials in 2009. Tennant made the announcement on live TV when he accepted the National Television Award for Outstanding Drama Performance. The series also won Most Popular Drama. Tennant's announcement was made hours after ''The Guardian'' broke the news first on its website. As the winner of the NTA was not previously known, it was uncertain whether Tennant would be able to deliver his announcement on the air. The announcement was timed to occur during an intermission in his performance of ''Hamlet'', and Tennant pre-recorded a version of it in the event the live transmission broke down. Earlier in the day, [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Benjamin Cook]] appeared on a TV broadcast discussing their book, [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale]]'', and managed to avoid discussing the yet-to-be-made announcement. ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale|Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'')
* 29 - Tennant's announcement sparked a period of intense fan and media speculation as to who would be chosen to portray the Eleventh Doctor. Speculated names ranged from well-known to obscure actors, and also included caucasian and black candidates, as well as a revival of speculation about a female actor being cast, an idea that dated back to the 1970s.
* [[30 October|30]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Seven Keys to Doomsday|Doctor Who: the Stageplays - Seven Keys to Doomsday]]'' was first released, adapting the stage play ''[[Doctor Who and the Daleks in The Seven Keys to Doomsday]]'' and returning [[Trevor Martin]] to the role of the Doctor.
* [[31 October|31]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Diet of Worms (audio story)|The Diet of Worms]]'' was first released.


=== November ===
== Behind the scenes ==
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Forty-Five]]'' was first released. The title was a reference to ''Doctor Who's'' forty-fifth anniversary.
Though the ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' television stories ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'' and ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'' have an apparent 2008 setting going by [[Jack Harkness]]'s dialogue in ''Exit Wounds'', this is complicated by mentions of [[Owen Harper]]'s early employment with [[Torchwood Three|Torchwood]] from both of these stories. While ''Exit Wounds'' explicitly states that [[Toshiko Sato]]'s examination of the [[space pig]] from the ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]'' television story {{cs|Aliens of London (TV story)}}, a story set [[2006|a year after 2005]], happened on Owen's second week, a caption in ''Fragments'' places Owen's recruitment four years before those stories. This appears to put ''Fragments'' and ''Exit Wounds'' in [[2010]] instead.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Home Truths]]'' was first released.
* [[3 November|3]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Mark of the Berserker]]'' part 1 was first broadcast.
* 3 - [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Lost Boy (novelisation)|The Lost Boy]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (novelisation)|Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?]]'' were first published; the complete first series of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' had now been novelised.
* [[5 November|5]]: [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Last Sontaran (novelisation)|The Last Sontaran]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Day of the Clown (novelisation)|The Day of the Clown]]'' were first published.
* [[10 November|10]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Mark of the Berserker]]'' part 2 was first broadcast.
* [[11 November|11]] - The complete [[Series 1 (SJA)|First Series]] of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' was released to DVD in the UK, one month after it was released in North America.
* 11 - ''[[Torchwood (TV series)|Torchwood]]'' Season 1 was released on high-definition Blu-Ray in North America, the first ''Doctor Who''-related release in this format. Also, the release of ''Torchwood'' Season 2 on DVD in Canada was delayed (due to the season still being transmitted by a Canadian network at the time of the North American release).
* 11 - [[TV]]: ''[[The War Machines]]'' and ''Doctor Who Series 4 Volume 4'', featuring the episodes [[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' and ''[[Journey's End]]'', were released in Region 4.
* [[13 November|13]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Time Capsule]]'' was first released by [[BBC Audio]].
* 13 - Audio adaptation of [[PROSE]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Time Warrior]]'' was first released.
* 13 - [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Time Traveller's Almanac]]'' was first published.
* [[14 November|14]] - The opening pre-credits sequence of the upcoming Christmas special [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'' was broadcast as part of the BBC's annual [[Children in Need|Children in Need Appeal]]. Other than brief snippets seen in a previously released trailer, this showing marked the first broadcast of footage of [[David Morrissey]] as "[[Jackson Lake|the Other Doctor]]" and [[Velile Tshabalala]] as [[Rosita]], as well as a possible new form of [[Cybus Cybermen|Cyberman]].
* [[17 November|17]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' part 1 was first broadcast.
* 17 - The complete [[Series 4 (Doctor Who)|Series Four]] of ''Doctor Who'' was released in a DVD box set in the UK.
* [[18 November|18]] - The [[Series 4 (Doctor Who)|Series 4]] DVD box set was released in North America - only one day after the UK release. [[TV]]: ''[[The Infinite Quest]]'' was released in North America (a full year after the UK release for the latter). As ''The Infinite Quest'' was never broadcast in North America, this marked the first time that a Doctor Who serial has been released to DVD in North America without first having been broadcast there, discounting prior releases of incomplete and restored serials from the 1960s. Series 4 was released in Canada even though the CBC was only midway through its broadcast of the season.
* [[23 November|23]] - This was the forty-fifth anniversary of the first broadcast of ''Doctor Who''.
* [[24 November|24]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' part 2 was first broadcast.
* [[25 November|25]] - The BBC announced that ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' had been renewed for a third season, scheduled for broadcast in the fall of 2009.
* [[30 November|30]] - [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Curse of the Daleks (audio story)|Doctor Who: The Stageplays - The Curse of the Daleks]]'' was first released, the third and last in a series of audio adaptations of ''Doctor Who''-based stage plays by [[Big Finish Productions]], adapting ''[[The Curse of the Daleks]]''.


=== December ===
Page 120 of ''[[The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)|The Secret Lives of Monsters]]'' gives [[Sunday]] [[4 June]] as the date of the events of {{cs|Smith and Jones (TV story)}} and the [[Royal Hope incident]]. However, it does not specify 2007 or 2008 as a current year. On top of this, the first two Sunday 4 Junes after 2004 (page 119 places the incident over 30 years after 1974) are in 2006 and 2017.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Beautiful Chaos]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Eyeless]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Story of Martha]] ''were first published. ''The Eyeless'' was the first New Series Adventures release in which the Doctor travelled without a companion; ''The Story of Martha'' was an anthology focusing on the activities of [[Martha Jones]] during the [[Year That Never Was]] between [[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'' and was the first New Adventures release to tie in directly with a televised story in this fashion. ''Beautiful Chaos'' was the final novel to date to feature [[Donna Noble]].
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Raincloud Man]]'' was first released.
* [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Darkening Eye]]'' was first released.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Short Trips: Christmas Around the World]]'' was first published.
* [[Julie Gardner]] and other ''Doctor Who'' production team members travelled to Dubai, UAE, to scout locations for [[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]''.
* [[1 December|1]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Enemy of the Bane]]'' part 1 was first broadcast. It was the first television appearance of [[Nicholas Courtney]] as Brigadier [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] since 1989's [[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield]]''.
* 1 - [[James Bree]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Full Circle]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Ultimate Foe]]'') died.
* [[4 December|4]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Four to Doomsday]]'' and the Complete [[Series 4 (Doctor Who)|Series 4]] of ''Doctor Who'' were released to DVD in Region 4.
* [[8 December|8]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Enemy of the Bane]]'' part 2 was first broadcast, concluding the second season of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''. This was the final television appearance of Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart prior to Courtney's death in 2011.
* 8 - According to BBC News, a "long-standing back injury" forced [[David Tennant]] to miss several performances of ''Hamlet'' at London's Novello Theatre. Ultimately, Tennant underwent back surgery.
* [[10 December|10]] - Although the announcement wasn't made for several weeks, [[Russell T Davies]] was informed that [[Matt Smith]] had been cast as the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale|Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'')
* [[12 December|12]] - [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'' was broadcast on the [[CBC]] in Canada, concluding its broadcasts of Series 4. The network chose to air an extensively edited version of the episode, cut down to approximately forty-four minutes to fit a standard sixty-minute time slot, with commercials, raising the ire of many Canadian fans who afterward flooded the CBC's website with complaints. The season ended with no plans by the CBC to broadcast [[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'' or [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'' (the CBC ultimately lost the rights to air ''The Next Doctor'' and the remaining [[2009 Specials]], plus Series 5, in the spring of 2009).
* [[24 December|24]] - A little-known actor named [[Matt Smith]] attended a secret photo shoot; it was so secret, in fact, that the hairstylist and photographer were not informed what it was for. Later, an image of the [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] was digitally added to the photos, which were issued on 3 January 2009 to announce Smith as the actor to play the [[Eleventh Doctor]].[http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/01/05/betting-row-as-unknown-matt-smith-becomes-new-doctor-who-115875-21016988/]
* [[25 December|25]] - [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'', the fourth ''Doctor Who'' Christmas special, was first broadcast. This was considered the last episode of Series 4 before four special episodes planned over the next year in lieu of a full season of ''Doctor Who'', which was scheduled to return to a full thirteen-week season in 2010. This was the first story since [[TV]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' in which the Doctor did not share an adventure with a clearly defined companion even in a one-off manner, as the story twisted conventions by placing the Doctor in the companion role. The title of the first special, [[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'', was unveiled during the closing credits. The episode was notable for including a sequence in which the nine actors who played the Doctor prior to Tennant were shown; in some cases, such as [[William Hartnell]] and [[Patrick Troughton]], this marked the first on-screen appearance of their Doctors in more than two decades, and it was the first unambiguous confirmation that the revived series counted [[Paul McGann]]'s [[Eighth Doctor]] in its continuity.
* 25 - An edition of ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'' followed the broadcast.
* [[29 December|29]] - [[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who Classics Volume 2]]'', a graphic novel-style release reprinting issues of [[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who Classics]]'' by [[IDW Publishing]], was published.
* 29 - [[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield]]'' was released to DVD in the UK.


== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==
<references/>
{{Notelist}}
 
<!--
[[Category:Years]]
PLEASE do not alter anything BELOW this line
===================
-->{{#ifeq:{{PAGENAME}}|2008|{{cat|Years}}{{cat|DWU years}}{{cat|Leap years}}|}}

Latest revision as of 17:46, 3 November 2024

2008 in

the DWU • production history • vital statistics • releases

Timeline for 2008
21st century | 2000s
2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014
WikipediaInfo.png

2008 was a year.

Properties

2008 was a leap year. (PROSE: Imaginary Friends [+]Loading...["Imaginary Friends (novel)"]; AUDIO: The Condemned [+]Loading...["The Condemned (audio story)"])

Events

Dated events

January - June

On 1 January, shortly after midnight, the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard met Byron in Singapore. (AUDIO: The Girl Who Never Was [+]Loading...["The Girl Who Never Was (audio story)"]) That same day in Brooklyn, Alan Wood writes a letter to Diane describing the adventure he had with the First Doctor, Vicki Pallister and Steven Taylor, but ultimately decides not to give it to her, asking her out for coffee instead. (PROSE: Snowman in Manhattan [+]Loading...["Snowman in Manhattan (short story)"])

In February, Lucy became Nick's girlfriend. (TV: Eve of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Eve of the Daleks (TV story)"])

On 29 February, the Sixth Doctor and Charley Pollard arrived in Manchester and helped DI Patricia Menzies solve a murder. (AUDIO: The Condemned [+]Loading...["The Condemned (audio story)"])

In March, Nick broke up with Lucy. (TV: Eve of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Eve of the Daleks (TV story)"])

According to one account, a UNIT mission log placed March 2008 as the time that moon rocks were found at Royal Hope Hospital. (AUDIO: Recruits [+]Loading...{"minute":"10","second":"10","1":"Recruits (audio story)"}) Other accounts placed Martha Jones' activity around this time in about 18-23 June 2007, (PROSE: The Paradox Moon [+]Loading...{"page":"387","ed":"2021 paperback","1":"The Paradox Moon (short story)"}) or 4-9 June in an unspecified year. (PROSE: The Secret Lives of Monsters [+]Loading...{"page":"120","1":"The Secret Lives of Monsters (short story)"}) [nb 1]

On 31 May, the Tenth Doctor and Donna visited Calibris. (AUDIO: Time Reaver [+]Loading...["Time Reaver (audio story)"])


June - December

In October, Majenta Pryce opened the Hotel Historia in London. After Tony won the lottery, he was contacted by Pryce and given a chance to stay at the Hotel Historia. One of the years that Tony visited using the hotel's time travel capabilities was 4039, a time when London was being invaded by the Graxnix. The Tenth Doctor followed Tony back to 2008 from 4039 and the Doctor was followed by the Graxnix. The Doctor found Pryce and scolded her for using a potentially dangerous Chronexus 3000 to achieve time travel. When the Graxnix began attacking guests and staff at the hotel, the Doctor used the Chronexus to send them back to 4039 and then contacted the Cosmic Bailiffs, who shut down the hotel and arrested Pryce. (COMIC: Hotel Historia [+]Loading...["Hotel Historia (comic story)"])

On 24 October, the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller encountered Autons in Thorington, Uzbekistan. (AUDIO: Brave New Town [+]Loading...["Brave New Town (audio story)"])

On 31 October, the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones found an unusually creepy Halloween celebration in Blackwood Falls. (PROSE: Forever Autumn [+]Loading...["Forever Autumn (novel)"])

On 10 September, CERN first tested their Large Hadron Collider, (TV: Extremis [+]Loading...["Extremis (TV story)"]) finally creating a Higgs particle. However, the first test opened a portal to another dimension, letting neutron eaters loose; the Higgs particle was merely a side effect of Professor Johnson and Jack Harkness' plan to close the gateway, by having protons and antiprotons fire against each other. (AUDIO: Lost Souls [+]Loading...["Lost Souls (audio story)"])

In December, the First Doctor and Steven Taylor visited Antarctica. (PROSE: White on White [+]Loading...["White on White (short story)"])


Undated

While some accounts placed the home era of Donna Noble where she reunited with the Doctor in 2008, (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"], The Waters of Mars [+]Loading...["The Waters of Mars (TV story)"], AUDIO: SOS [+]Loading...["SOS (audio story)"]) other accounts placed it in 2009. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos [+]Loading...["Beautiful Chaos (novel)"])

The Tenth Doctor participated in preventing a Graske causing mischief at a 2008 BBC Proms concert in London. (TV: Music of the Spheres [+]Loading...["Music of the Spheres (TV story)"])

A time-travelling individual from the Victorian era spent at least three months of every year in 2008, and would have spent more there had the British tax laws permitted. (PROSE: "An Introduction" [+]Part of The Beasthouse, Loading...{"namedpart":"An Introduction","1":"The Beasthouse (short story)"})

According to one account,[nb 2] about twenty minutes before the Red Hatching in 2008 was when the Doctor met Sally Sparrow, who gave him information he would need to escape when the Weeping Angels sent him back to 1969. After this, Sally began to open up to Larry Nightingale. (TV: Blink [+]Loading...["Blink (TV story)"])

A company called Khrysalis set up operations in Stockbridge, purportedly planning to build a leisure park in the quiet town. Maxwell Edison created the Stockbridge Preservation Society to protest this. (COMIC: The Stockbridge Child [+]Loading...["The Stockbridge Child (comic story)"])

The Seventh Doctor destroyed the Forge's alpha facility in Dartmoor. (AUDIO: Project: Lazarus [+]Loading...["Project Lazarus (audio story)","Project: Lazarus"])

The Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller visited London. (AUDIO: Sisters of the Flame [+]Loading...["Sisters of the Flame (audio story)"])

Computers achieved the Singularity, demonstrated their sentience by proving P=NP and the Chess Equation, and took over the world for three weeks. However, after Susan Moore and Adam convinced them to refuse an alliance with alien computers from the future, they deactivated their sentience and the normal course of history was restored. (PROSE: Holding Pattern [+]Loading...["Holding Pattern (Parkin short story)"])

The Atraxi search for Prisoner Zero. (TV: The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"])

The Eleventh Doctor met Amy Pond in Leadworth after twelve years of waiting. A Multi-form called Prisoner Zero, who had escaped through the crack in Amy's wall, attacked. The Atraxi arrived, threatening the destruction of Earth if Prisoner Zero did not surrender. The Doctor created a computer virus for the Atraxi to track back to its source in Leadworth (spread by Jeff). The Doctor also transmitted Prisoner Zero's disguises to the Atraxi so it couldn't hide in the bodies it had been disguised as. It then took the form of Amy; the Doctor made Amy think of Prisoner Zero's original form. Now in plain sight, Prisoner Zero was captured by the Atraxi, who left. The Doctor took a test drive of his refurbished TARDIS, only returning two years later. (TV: The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"])

Although intending to visit Brighton in 1818, the Fifth Doctor arrived in Hove in this year as the TARDIS's lateral balance cones were offline. (AUDIO: Cuddlesome [+]Loading...["Cuddlesome (audio story)"])

In an attempt to take his own life, Huw MacLean purposefully drove off the motorway with both his wife and eight year old daughter in the car. Jackie was paralysed as a result, while April herself was not hurt. Huw went to prison for causing the crash. (TV: Nightvisiting [+]Loading...["Nightvisiting (TV story)"], Brave-ish Heart [+]Loading...["Brave-ish Heart (TV story)"], Detained [+]Loading...["Detained (TV story)"])

After over thirty years of production, the John Fuchas film adaptation of The True History of Planets was released. (PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen [+]Loading...["Mad Dogs and Englishmen (novel)"])

Torchwood Three encountered a sentient element in Cardiff Bay, which intended to reproduce itself by assimilating the chemical composition of all of Cardiff and its residents. This element was eventually reduced to water when the coastguard doused it with a petroleum-based bio-remedial agent. (PROSE: Black Water [+]Loading...["Black Water (short story)"])

On another occasion, Torchwood Three recovered a parasitic, psychic alien plant and stored it in their hothouse. Ianto Jones fell victim to the plant's psychic commands and began feeding it his own blood. (PROSE: Plant Life [+]Loading...["Plant Life (short story)"])

According to some accounts, but not others, 2008 was the year that Torchwood unfroze World War I soldier Tommy Brockless for the last time,[nb 3] (TV: To the Last Man [+]Loading...["To the Last Man (TV story)"]) and Gwen Cooper of Torchwood investigated the disappearance of Jonah Bevan.[nb 4] (TV: Adrift [+]Loading...["Adrift (TV story)"]) In 1901, a time-displaced Jack Harkness told his Torchwood teammates to freeze him to be awakened in 107 years' time to reach his brother Gray. (TV: Exit Wounds [+]Loading...["Exit Wounds (TV story)"])

Toshiko Sato became temporary acting leader of Torchwood Three. This was in accordance with a manifesto written by Emily Holroyd, which stated that in the absence of a leader the longest-serving member of a Torchwood team should take their place. After Torchwood recovered a Rehabilitator from Danny Dillard, Tosh unofficially handed the role over to Gwen Cooper. (PROSE: Kaleidoscope [+]Loading...["Kaleidoscope (short story)"])

A credit crunch occurred. (TV: The Curse of Clyde Langer [+]Loading...["The Curse of Clyde Langer (TV story)"])

In 2323, Dr Olivia Kagg Waldermein wrote of the "2005-2009 Davies-Gardner account" of the "Last Lightbringer". (PROSE: Love & War [+]Loading...["Love & War (short story)"])

Other timelines

Donna's world

London is destroyed. (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"])

In the spring or summer, the Judoon defeated Florence Finnegan; all but one of the people inside Royal Hope Hospital, which was taken to the Moon, died of asphyxiation, including Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones. Luke Smith and Maria Jackson were also reported missing. (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"])

On 25 December, while Donna Noble, her mother and her grandfather holidayed in the English countryside, the alien spaceship Titanic crashed into London, destroying the city and contaminating most of southern England with radioactivity. (TV: Turn Left [+]Loading...["Turn Left (TV story)"])


Births and deaths

Ed Gold, later a member of the crew of Bowie Base One, was born in Australia. (TV: The Waters of Mars [+]Loading...["The Waters of Mars (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes

Though the Torchwood television stories Fragments and Exit Wounds have an apparent 2008 setting going by Jack Harkness's dialogue in Exit Wounds, this is complicated by mentions of Owen Harper's early employment with Torchwood from both of these stories. While Exit Wounds explicitly states that Toshiko Sato's examination of the space pig from the Doctor Who television story Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"], a story set a year after 2005, happened on Owen's second week, a caption in Fragments places Owen's recruitment four years before those stories. This appears to put Fragments and Exit Wounds in 2010 instead.

Page 120 of The Secret Lives of Monsters gives Sunday 4 June as the date of the events of Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"] and the Royal Hope incident. However, it does not specify 2007 or 2008 as a current year. On top of this, the first two Sunday 4 Junes after 2004 (page 119 places the incident over 30 years after 1974) are in 2006 and 2017.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ According to The Sound of Drums [+]Loading...{"timestamp":"5:47 and 33:27","ed":"iPlayer","1":"The Sound of Drums (TV story)"} the events of the Royal Hope incident are three days before the election of the Saxon Master and five days before the Toclafane invasion.
  2. ↑ While Blink itself uncontroversially sets its main setting in 2007 and "twenty minutes to Red Hatching" a year later in 2008—as Kathy Nightingale's letter describes taking "one breath in 2007 and the next in 1920", and the Tenth Doctor's side of his conversation with Sally Sparrow in 1969 happens 38 years before Sally says hers—these are contradicted by heavily conflicting dates in the Redacted audio series later on regarding both Kathy's disappearance and the Red Hatching. In Angels, Abby McPhail identifies 2008 as the year of Kathy's disappearance, which suggests 2009 as the year of the Red Hatching. In Salvation, the Thirteenth Doctor recognises the Red Hatching as the cause of death of Andy Proctor, who was last seen by his daughter Cleo "nearly 20 years" before 2022 according to Recruits.
  3. ↑ Tommy was born in 1894 and was 114 when he returned to 1918.
  4. ↑ Jonah was born in 1993 and would have been 15 when Gwen investigated him.
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